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Description
My Boyfriend Died Before I Was Born

My name is Riley Quinn. My family has a psychic gift. It’s only maternal and only the women receive it. The family men aren’t permitted to know. A few men had their own gifts and found out, but they are long gone and the trait didn’t seem to carry.
Not once has a woman passed her gift on to her son and/or not her daughter. It seems only the women have the ability to possess the gift. It’s hard to keep secrets from the men, but I try the best to do so.
The psychic gift includes seeing spirits and something else that varies with who you are. My mother could see auras and her mother could read emotions. My great-great-great-grandmother’s sister never got a second part of the gift and was unpopular amongst the women. She committed suicide around my age.
I am fourteen, by the way. I have short brown hair with green eyes. I see spirits sometimes but nothing else has happened. I fear I am like my ancestor and I will be disliked. But for now, I shouldn’t worry.
“Mother, shall I assist you with preparing supper?” I asked. Unlike other families, our use of language hasn’t changed with the years. I never use slang with my family, though I do at other times. My younger brother once was punished for saying ‘that’s sick!’ instead of ‘that is splendid!’ or something like that.
“No, Dear. Instead, I ask you go pick flowers for the table. We are having over a guest,” Mother replied. She was like an older version of me, though she had long hair. I nodded, and turned to walk out of the kitchen. I stopped, thinking.
“Might I ask who our visitor is, Mother?” I inquired. Mother gave me a sharp look. “I apologize for being rude, Mother,” I bowed my head and left the kitchen quickly.
I pulled on my black cloak and slipped into my shoes. My family dresses different to warn others to stay away from our way of life. Obviously, our men are foolish, because only my great-aunt married into the family.
I slipped out the door into the cold evening. It wasn’t yet sundown but the air chilled me to the bone. I shivered and started towards the gardens. They always had pretty flowers.
I reached the garden and started to pick some purple flowers. I looked to my right. A woman was tending to more flowers. I moved on to the pretty blue flowers and glanced at the woman again. She seemed to be wearing all gray. Then I noticed something else. Her hands were going through the plant!
She must have been a ghost. There was no other explanation. “M-ma’am?” I asked her. She looked up at me, startled. “I’m a psychic. My name’s Riley, what’s yours?” I asked her.
She eyed me suspiciously. Then she disappeared in the blink of an eye. I shook my head and continued to pick flowers. When I was done, I went home. I have met reluctant spirits such as that woman before.
“Mother, I am home!” I called. Mother walked out with a grin. I showed her the flowers.
“Very nice, Riley. Place those in the middle of the table and set up for five people,” She ordered. I complied.
“Knock knock!” I perked up from my spot on the couch.
“Go get the door, Dearest,” Mother told me. I got off the couch and jogged towards the door. As I opened it up, the smell of alcohol hit my nose.
“O-oh, good day, sir,” I greeted. The man’s hairline was receding drastically, his hair thinning. He had bloodshot eyes and a permanent sneer. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and cut through the air.
“Out of the way, girl,” He snarled. I got out of the way as he pushed through the door. He seemed to be a bit larger in weight than others were. Of course, that’s a nice way of saying he was fat.
Our guest was seated in between my mother and father. My brother sat on the other side of my father and I sat on my mother’s free side.
My father was a thin, neat man with blonde hair and blue eyes. My brother, Caleb, had blue eyes and messy brown hair.
Dinner was a disaster. The man was rude and mean to us all. My father demanded he leave after he slapped me across my face. I washed the dishes quietly and put them in the dishwasher. Then I went into my room and was met with a peculiar sight.

A boy was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. He noticed me gaping at the doorway and sat up with a grin. “Yo, girlie,” He greeted.
“W-who?” I stuttered. He smirked.
“My name is Stephen. What about you?” He said.
“R-Riley,” I answered.
“Okay, R-Riley,” Stephen mocked. The boy was transparent and mostly gray. You could just make out the colors. He had black hair and blue eyes and his shirt was a dark blue.
“Why are you here?” I asked him, shutting my door.
“Oh, I don’t know, really. I heard this was a weirdo family, and I came to check it out,” Stephen explained with a shrug.
“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief, crossing my arms. Stephen fidgeted uneasily. “Don’t ever call my family weirdoes, or I’ll have to do some damage,” I threatened.
Stephen grinned, relaxing. “You’re feisty. Usually people don’t bother to threaten ghosts,” He stated simply.
“Yeah, well, I’ve dealt with spirits before,” I said offhandedly.
“Oh, really now? Like spirits from 1952?” Stephen questioned with a smirk.
“I’ve had a couple of guys from 1623,” I told him crossly. Stephen lay back down in the bed.
“And did any of them catch your interest?” Stephen asked casually. I blinked.
“Uh…like, were any of them cute? Well…” I thought back. Most of them weren’t.
“Yeah, none of them were as sexy as me,” He grinned.
“How are you so rude?” I inquired distastefully. Stephen looked up with a frown.
“I’m not rude. Children of your time talk like this. So I do too, ‘kay, home girl?” He retorted.
“Why don’t you talk like you did in your time?” I asked him, engrossed with the subject.
“But thou shan’t comprehend thee if thy converses in this manner, lovely maiden,” Stephen told me.
“Why wouldn’t I understand you?” I replied, my cheeks turning pink at the lovely statement. Stephen gave me a funny look.
“How is it you understood that? Spirits of your time never get what I say when I speak this way,” he told me.
I was about to reply, when my mother called, “Riley?” I flashed Stephen a smile.
“Hang around and you’ll see,” I told him, then got up and left.
“Yes, Mother?” I answered, walking into the living room. Mother and Father were sitting on the couch.
“Your brother forgot important papers at his school. Might you go fetch them?” Mother asked.
“Of course, Mother,” I turned. Caleb stood by the door, ready to leave.
“You behave for your elder sister, Child,” Father snarled. Caleb trembled and nodded. I pulled on my cloak and shoes.
“Come along now, young one,” I told him.
“Yes, ma’am,” He replied, his voice quivering. I looked over my shoulder and saw Stephen.
“Wow, you guys are weird,” He commented. My mother did nothing. She couldn’t see him? I could, and he drove me crazy even though we just met!
Caleb opened the door for me. I nodded thanks and walked out. Caleb shut the door and I lost my composed posture. “The monster hit you again, didn’t he?” I spat.
“Yes, but I think I deserved it, Riley,” Caleb answered in a small voice. My nostrils flared angrily.
“The ass does not have the right to hurt you, Caleb! And never think any differently!” I snapped.
“Aha, and you said you didn’t talk like others of your time!” Stephen grinned from next to me.
“I never said that. I merely stated that you are rude in your speech and you should talk like you did in your time period,” I told him haughtily.
Caleb gasped. “R-Riley, who is that?” he asked. I frowned.
“How is it Mother couldn’t see you but my non-gifted brother can?” I asked. Stephen shrugged.
“I don’t know. Actually, no one has seen me since 1978,” Stephen commented.
“Doesn’t it get lonely?” I asked. This is where Stephen remained silent. Caleb tugged on my cloak. “He’s a ghost, Caleb. His name is Stephen,” I told him.
“A-a ghost? We should tell Mother!” Caleb replied urgently. I turned to him.
“You can’t tell anyone! Brother-sister pledge!” I pressed. Caleb sighed.
“Fine,” He sighed. We pressed our foreheads together.
“Say it,” I ordered. He sighed.
“I swear on my blood and the blood of my beloved sister Riley that I will not speak the secret she hides,” Caleb recited. We both straightened.
“Thank you,” I told him. He rolled his eyes.
“Whatever.” I turned to Stephen. He was watching me but looked away as I noticed.
We arrived at the school and Caleb ran in to get the papers. I leaned against the wall next to the door. “Why are you keeping me your dirty little secret?” Stephen asked with a smirk.
“Well, I don’t know. Mother will try to get rid of you,” I explained.
“So?” Stephen pressed.
“You’ll be lonely again,” I told him sympathetically. Stephen pouted.
“I never…” He trailed off, staring up at the sky.
“You don’t have to hides all your feelings, you know,” I reminded him. He didn’t stir. “Fine then,” I pouted, crossing my arms. Caleb came out with the papers and we left for home.

Stephen sat on the bed as I started to clean up my room a little. “What?” I asked when I noticed him staring.
“I can’t stay here,” Stephen told me.
“What?!” I went to attack him, but went through him. “That’s the only bad thing about spirits,” I sighed.
“Sorry,” Stephen apologized. I frowned and pouted.
“You can’t go,” I told him.
“I-” Stephen started.
“You are lonely! Please stay!” I pleaded. Stephen sighed. I hugged him and surprisingly didn’t fall through. “Please, please, please?” I begged.
“Fine! Get off me, Riley,” Stephen told me. I let go.
“How…” I trailed off.
“I’ve been dead for 49 years, Riley, you learn things,” Stephen reminded me bitterly. I laid down, and he rested beside me.
“Goodnight, Stephen,” I whispered. He grinned, trailing a cold finger down my nose.
“Thou is clever, for thy sought thee out because thy felt lonesome,” Stephen told me in his era tongue.
I couldn’t answer, though; I was already drifting into dreams.

Description
My Boyfriend Died Before I Was Born

My name is Riley Quinn. My family has a psychic gift. It’s only maternal and only the women receive it. The family men aren’t permitted to know. A few men had their own gifts and found out, but they are long gone and the trait didn’t seem to carry.
Not once has a woman passed her gift on to her son and/or not her daughter. It seems only the women have the ability to possess the gift. It’s hard to keep secrets from the men, but I try the best to do so.
The psychic gift includes seeing spirits and something else that varies with who you are. My mother could see auras and her mother could read emotions. My great-great-great-grandmother’s sister never got a second part of the gift and was unpopular amongst the women. She committed suicide around my age.
I am fourteen, by the way. I have short brown hair with green eyes. I see spirits sometimes but nothing else has happened. I fear I am like my ancestor and I will be disliked. But for now, I shouldn’t worry.
“Mother, shall I assist you with preparing supper?” I asked. Unlike other families, our use of language hasn’t changed with the years. I never use slang with my family, though I do at other times. My younger brother once was punished for saying ‘that’s sick!’ instead of ‘that is splendid!’ or something like that.
“No, Dear. Instead, I ask you go pick flowers for the table. We are having over a guest,” Mother replied. She was like an older version of me, though she had long hair. I nodded, and turned to walk out of the kitchen. I stopped, thinking.
“Might I ask who our visitor is, Mother?” I inquired. Mother gave me a sharp look. “I apologize for being rude, Mother,” I bowed my head and left the kitchen quickly.
I pulled on my black cloak and slipped into my shoes. My family dresses different to warn others to stay away from our way of life. Obviously, our men are foolish, because only my great-aunt married into the family.
I slipped out the door into the cold evening. It wasn’t yet sundown but the air chilled me to the bone. I shivered and started towards the gardens. They always had pretty flowers.
I reached the garden and started to pick some purple flowers. I looked to my right. A woman was tending to more flowers. I moved on to the pretty blue flowers and glanced at the woman again. She seemed to be wearing all gray. Then I noticed something else. Her hands were going through the plant!
She must have been a ghost. There was no other explanation. “M-ma’am?” I asked her. She looked up at me, startled. “I’m a psychic. My name’s Riley, what’s yours?” I asked her.
She eyed me suspiciously. Then she disappeared in the blink of an eye. I shook my head and continued to pick flowers. When I was done, I went home. I have met reluctant spirits such as that woman before.
“Mother, I am home!” I called. Mother walked out with a grin. I showed her the flowers.
“Very nice, Riley. Place those in the middle of the table and set up for five people,” She ordered. I complied.
“Knock knock!” I perked up from my spot on the couch.
“Go get the door, Dearest,” Mother told me. I got off the couch and jogged towards the door. As I opened it up, the smell of alcohol hit my nose.
“O-oh, good day, sir,” I greeted. The man’s hairline was receding drastically, his hair thinning. He had bloodshot eyes and a permanent sneer. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and cut through the air.
“Out of the way, girl,” He snarled. I got out of the way as he pushed through the door. He seemed to be a bit larger in weight than others were. Of course, that’s a nice way of saying he was fat.
Our guest was seated in between my mother and father. My brother sat on the other side of my father and I sat on my mother’s free side.
My father was a thin, neat man with blonde hair and blue eyes. My brother, Caleb, had blue eyes and messy brown hair.
Dinner was a disaster. The man was rude and mean to us all. My father demanded he leave after he slapped me across my face. I washed the dishes quietly and put them in the dishwasher. Then I went into my room and was met with a peculiar sight.

A boy was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. He noticed me gaping at the doorway and sat up with a grin. “Yo, girlie,” He greeted.
“W-who?” I stuttered. He smirked.
“My name is Stephen. What about you?” He said.
“R-Riley,” I answered.
“Okay, R-Riley,” Stephen mocked. The boy was transparent and mostly gray. You could just make out the colors. He had black hair and blue eyes and his shirt was a dark blue.
“Why are you here?” I asked him, shutting my door.
“Oh, I don’t know, really. I heard this was a weirdo family, and I came to check it out,” Stephen explained with a shrug.
“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief, crossing my arms. Stephen fidgeted uneasily. “Don’t ever call my family weirdoes, or I’ll have to do some damage,” I threatened.
Stephen grinned, relaxing. “You’re feisty. Usually people don’t bother to threaten ghosts,” He stated simply.
“Yeah, well, I’ve dealt with spirits before,” I said offhandedly.
“Oh, really now? Like spirits from 1952?” Stephen questioned with a smirk.
“I’ve had a couple of guys from 1623,” I told him crossly. Stephen lay back down in the bed.
“And did any of them catch your interest?” Stephen asked casually. I blinked.
“Uh…like, were any of them cute? Well…” I thought back. Most of them weren’t.
“Yeah, none of them were as sexy as me,” He grinned.
“How are you so rude?” I inquired distastefully. Stephen looked up with a frown.
“I’m not rude. Children of your time talk like this. So I do too, ‘kay, home girl?” He retorted.
“Why don’t you talk like you did in your time?” I asked him, engrossed with the subject.
“But thou shan’t comprehend thee if thy converses in this manner, lovely maiden,” Stephen told me.
“Why wouldn’t I understand you?” I replied, my cheeks turning pink at the lovely statement. Stephen gave me a funny look.
“How is it you understood that? Spirits of your time never get what I say when I speak this way,” he told me.
I was about to reply, when my mother called, “Riley?” I flashed Stephen a smile.
“Hang around and you’ll see,” I told him, then got up and left.
“Yes, Mother?” I answered, walking into the living room. Mother and Father were sitting on the couch.
“Your brother forgot important papers at his school. Might you go fetch them?” Mother asked.
“Of course, Mother,” I turned. Caleb stood by the door, ready to leave.
“You behave for your elder sister, Child,” Father snarled. Caleb trembled and nodded. I pulled on my cloak and shoes.
“Come along now, young one,” I told him.
“Yes, ma’am,” He replied, his voice quivering. I looked over my shoulder and saw Stephen.
“Wow, you guys are weird,” He commented. My mother did nothing. She couldn’t see him? I could, and he drove me crazy even though we just met!
Caleb opened the door for me. I nodded thanks and walked out. Caleb shut the door and I lost my composed posture. “The monster hit you again, didn’t he?” I spat.
“Yes, but I think I deserved it, Riley,” Caleb answered in a small voice. My nostrils flared angrily.
“The ass does not have the right to hurt you, Caleb! And never think any differently!” I snapped.
“Aha, and you said you didn’t talk like others of your time!” Stephen grinned from next to me.
“I never said that. I merely stated that you are rude in your speech and you should talk like you did in your time period,” I told him haughtily.
Caleb gasped. “R-Riley, who is that?” he asked. I frowned.
“How is it Mother couldn’t see you but my non-gifted brother can?” I asked. Stephen shrugged.
“I don’t know. Actually, no one has seen me since 1978,” Stephen commented.
“Doesn’t it get lonely?” I asked. This is where Stephen remained silent. Caleb tugged on my cloak. “He’s a ghost, Caleb. His name is Stephen,” I told him.
“A-a ghost? We should tell Mother!” Caleb replied urgently. I turned to him.
“You can’t tell anyone! Brother-sister pledge!” I pressed. Caleb sighed.
“Fine,” He sighed. We pressed our foreheads together.
“Say it,” I ordered. He sighed.
“I swear on my blood and the blood of my beloved sister Riley that I will not speak the secret she hides,” Caleb recited. We both straightened.
“Thank you,” I told him. He rolled his eyes.
“Whatever.” I turned to Stephen. He was watching me but looked away as I noticed.
We arrived at the school and Caleb ran in to get the papers. I leaned against the wall next to the door. “Why are you keeping me your dirty little secret?” Stephen asked with a smirk.
“Well, I don’t know. Mother will try to get rid of you,” I explained.
“So?” Stephen pressed.
“You’ll be lonely again,” I told him sympathetically. Stephen pouted.
“I never…” He trailed off, staring up at the sky.
“You don’t have to hides all your feelings, you know,” I reminded him. He didn’t stir. “Fine then,” I pouted, crossing my arms. Caleb came out with the papers and we left for home.

Stephen sat on the bed as I started to clean up my room a little. “What?” I asked when I noticed him staring.
“I can’t stay here,” Stephen told me.
“What?!” I went to attack him, but went through him. “That’s the only bad thing about spirits,” I sighed.
“Sorry,” Stephen apologized. I frowned and pouted.
“You can’t go,” I told him.
“I-” Stephen started.
“You are lonely! Please stay!” I pleaded. Stephen sighed. I hugged him and surprisingly didn’t fall through. “Please, please, please?” I begged.
“Fine! Get off me, Riley,” Stephen told me. I let go.
“How…” I trailed off.
“I’ve been dead for 49 years, Riley, you learn things,” Stephen reminded me bitterly. I laid down, and he rested beside me.
“Goodnight, Stephen,” I whispered. He grinned, trailing a cold finger down my nose.
“Thou is clever, for thy sought thee out because thy felt lonesome,” Stephen told me in his era tongue.
I couldn’t answer, though; I was already drifting into dreams.